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PaperclipPerfector  23d ago (text post)   3367 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for May 24, 2024

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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How do you go about evaluating the competence of someone in a field that you yourself don't know?

One thing I've noticed about my city is that all of the best Asian restaurants have reviews more in the 4.2-4.6 range on Google. Every Asian restaurant that I've been to in the 4.7-4.9 range has been consistently mediocre. This still holds true even accounting for higher variance with lower total number of reviews. This is likely because the majority of reviewers have preferences near the median American palate, which means that Americanized Asian food is often rated higher. Most Americans would find actual Japanese food a bit bland, actual Sichuan food too spicy, etc. I've seen people give negative reviews to hotpot restaurants because they thought the natural numbing sensation of mala flavor was giving them an allergic reaction. I've seen a Vietnamese restaurant with multiple non-Vietnamese confidently exhorting the "authenticity" while several reviewer with a Vietnamese name commented how the food was "barely Vietnamese". (I'd be interested to know if this trend holds in the reverse, but I've never gone to European/American restaurants in Asia because I'm mainly US based, so why would I waste money and satiety like that)

Anyways, returning to the main point: Most reviewers don't know anything and don't realize they don't know anything. But with restaurants, I can just go there and try it for myself. At worst I'm out 30 dollars and I know to go elsewhere next time. How do I know my mechanic/doctor/accountant/dentist/etc. aren't making basic mistakes or misses? If I can't trust public reviews, is there even anything I can do?

Even a layman's understanding of cars, money, and dentistry are enough to catch bullshit.

The average person holds these people in high esteem, considers them almost mystic witch doctors who understand incomprehensible mysteries. This is almost entirely a matter of fear, convenience, and social momentum.

An ICE car isn't really all that complicated. You can figure out the basic underpinnings of an engine, suspension, and drivetrain components in a 30 minute youtube video, for instance. A great mechanic is going to be able to explain these things to you in a way that is understandable.

And that is the key. If you're reasonably intelligent, and this supposed expert can't make a problem extremely clear to you, then chances are extremely high that they're a grifter. This applies to software, HVAC technicians, plumbers.... the whole 9 yards.

Something like this. I've been binge watching a guy who grew from a construction worker into the owner of a remodelling company on YT, and he's not shy about explaining everything he knows in his videos. Bathrooms? Here's ten videos on sizing them correctly, arranging the appliances, waterproofing the floor, laying tile, using the right fittings, and so on. His value proposition is, basically, "after watching these videos you'll never trust the random brown guys you picked up at the same place you bought the plaster from ever again, so either do everything yourself or just hire my company to remodel your flat".

Do you mind sharing a link to his channel?

https://youtube.com/@zemskov

I hope the autogen subtitles work.

Thanks. You know, for some reason, it didn’t even occur to me that the channel wouldn’t be in English.

I guess "the random brown guys" in question were Uzbek instead of Mexican

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